A Song of Six Pens

The children’s publishing industry can be tough to break
into. Competition is high and budgets are low. But there’s another way to get
published that many authors are unaware of: the educational market. These
publishers put out educational books, often in series, that are marketed
specifically to schools and libraries. While authors can pitch ideas to these
publishers, they typically develop concepts in house and then hire authors to
write them.

Here are a few of the pros and cons of writing for the
educational market:

Pros:

Publishing credits. This can be especially
appealing as a new writer because it’s not easy to get published credits.
Work-for-hire books give you a published book by an established publishing house
that you can add to your resume and your cover letters to publishers and/or
agents.

Money. Some pay more than others, but because
you are working under a contract, you know you will get paid for producing the
book. For some authors, this can provide a steady stream of income. School and
library visits may also be an option for extra income and promotion.

Validation. Being published through established
publishers, even if it is work for hire, means you are a good enough writer
that they are willing to place their name on a product for which you wrote the
text.

Your name on Amazon. If it’s your first book,
you will become a published author on Amazon, maybe Barnes and Noble, Kobo, and
others. Your book will probably be sold to libraries, schools and bookstores. It’s
promotion you don’t have to pay for.

Cons:

Short deadlines. Turn-around time to submit
outlines and finished manuscripts is usually very tight. You may only be given
a week or a month to come up with an outline, depending on the length of the
book. Finished manuscripts are usually due in just a few months. On the upside,
books for hire are usually published within a year of the submission deadline.

Research. Many work-for-hire projects are
non-fiction and require a lot of research. Make sure you have the time and
willingness to do all the research your book requires.

Compliance with the publisher’s requirements.
Each publisher will give you the parameters around which you must do the work
for the book. These are seldom, if ever, negotiable.

No royalties. Work-for-hire is almost always
done for a flat fee with no royalties paid after publication. This is negative
in that you won’t make any more money from your book in the form of royalties,
but positive in that you won’t have to do any marketing or selling.

Competition. There are a lot of people who would
like to write books for hire. It may take a while to get a job. Also, editors
move around a lot within the publishing world and the editor that hired you
previously may have moved on.

If you’re willing to do the work, work-for-hire can be a
great way to break into publishing, gain experience, and share your knowledge
with kids. Consider giving this market a try! In our next post, we’ll tell you
how to get started.

Gloria has written for Rosen, Enslow and Greenhaven Press. Lisa writes regularly for Capstone, Rourke, and others.

Most of
us have used writing prompts for different reasons: to break writer’s block, at
gatherings of writers, at conferences and workshops, to generate new story
ideas. But most of the prompts you may have used are only that: prompts.
Whether it’s a photo, a string of words, a first line, or a scenario, that’s
all it is.

What if
you could take those prompts further? What if you had a step-by-step guide to
show you how to take a prompt and turn it into a story or a book with a strong
plot, engaging characters, and believable settings?

That’s
what my new book, Photo Plots: How to
Write Great Photo-inspired Books and Stories, is all about. In it, you’ll
find some basics on plot, character development, and settings/world building, a
template with questions for building your stories, four sample stories, and
over 60 images to spark your imagination.

Here’s
an excerpt:

PHOTO PLOT: A story plot inspired
by a photo.

PHOTO PLOTTING: The act of
creating a story plot inspired by a photo.

PHOTO PLOTTER: One who photo
plots.

There are times in the writing life when
ideas dry up, when inspiration won’t come. Your brain has come up with what you
consider to be a fabulous idea, but no words seem to convey the vision you have
for it. Maybe you’re part way through your manuscript and nothing is working
right in chapter eight. Or seven. Your mind is blank and so is that white page
in front of you. Some call it “writer’s block.” No matter what you call it, it
can be a source of great frustration.

One way to push through writer’s block is
to just start writing. And sometimes you need a prompt to get you going. I’m a
big fan of word prompts, but sometimes they just aren’t enough.

I find that photos work much better,
possibly because they tap into the emotions through a visual experience. You
can actually see the character, envision the scenery, smell the scent of those
flowers. From there, hopefully, a story idea will germinate.

But, let’s take it one step further. The
picture is there, the ideas begin to flow, but where do you start and how do
you actually make it work?

Try Photo Plots.

With Photo Plots, you can choose a
picture, brainstorm some ideas, then fill in a special plot template, answering
questions about characters, plot, and world building as you go.

You’ll get some basics, step-by-step
guides, a sample story built with the template, and three stories written by three
different authors using the same photograph. Plus, many wonderful photos to
inspire you.

Whatever your experience with photo
prompts has been, Photo Plots will take you a step further by providing the
tools you need to build the stories only you can create. Ready? Let’s get Photo
Plotting!

Today I'm happy to welcome my friend Lindsay Bonilla to the blog to share about her new picture book, POLAR BEAR ISLAND, which will be released in October. Lindsay, thanks for stopping by!

WHAT IS YOUR BOOK ABOUT?

Polar Bear Island is about Parker, the mayor of a peaceful and predictable island that is just for polar bears. Parker is determined to keep others off his island. Then Kirby, an adventurous penguin arrives. Kirby is tired after her long journey so Parker agrees to let her stay on the island for one night; but once the other bears meet Kirby and learn about her unique invention, they don't want her to leave.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO WRITE THIS STORY?

It was actually something that happened to my husband that inspired the story. My husband, Estith, is originally from Colombia, but we met in Spain. After we got engaged he moved here, but he didn't speak English. Still, as soon as his work permit came through, he started working as an electrician. He pushed himself to learn the language and because of his incredible skill was quickly promoted to running jobs.

One day he and a crew of electricians went to do a job at an industrial plant. When they arrived, Estith began to explain to the supervisor what they were going to do. After hearing my husband's accent, the supervisor ignored him and addressed the other members of the crew instead.

My husband felt disrespected and hurt. This wasn't the first time that someone had not wanted to engage in a conversation with him because of his accent. When he told me what happened, I was sad and angry. While I could appreciate the fact that it can be hard to understand someone with an accent; I also felt like all too often, some people aren't even willing to try.

My husband's experience got me thinking about all the forms of discrimination that he and our immigrant friends had experienced as well as the negative bias that so often surrounds immigrants in general. I wanted to tell a story that painted a positive picture of immigration and that was the seed for POLAR BEAR ISLAND. To this day I have no idea how penguins and polar bears became the vehicle for telling this story.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE IT WILL LEAVE YOUR READERS THINKING ABOUT?

I hope readers of POLAR BEAR ISLAND will be left thinking about the fact that we can learn a lot from those who are different than ourselves. People from different places or different backgrounds have a lot to teach us and can enrich our lives. Many times our fear or dislike of others is grounded in stereotypes that simply aren't true. I hope POLAR BEAR ISLAND will encourage people to look past stereotypes and biases and get to know people who are different on a personal level.

I also want readers to think about how they treat people who are different. Are they welcoming? Are they open to new ways of doing things? Open to learning from someone else? Or do they have the mindset that “my/our way is best” without ever experiencing another way of life? My mind has been opened considerably by traveling, living abroad and being married to someone from another country/culture. All of these experiences have taught me that oftentimes instead of there being right/wrong ways of doing things, there are simply different ways of doing things.I hope the book will cause readers to put themselves in the shoes, or in this case, the Flipper Slippers of another and ask, “How would I want to be treated if I were in that situation?”

Just as each of the penguins in the story has something to offer, I also want children to know that everyone has a unique gift to offer to the world.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR PUBLISHING JOURNEY FOR THIS BOOK.

I started writing this story in 2015. I took it to my critique partner and also had a paid critique with Pam Calvert. Pam thought the book was very close to being ready for submission but that I needed to make some of the penguin's hobbies more kid-friendly. She was exactly right. I took her suggestions and revised accordingly. Then for some reason, I put the manuscript aside. I honestly don't know why. Then in 2016 I heard about the SCBWI Michigan Roundtable Retreat to be held in October. You had to submit a manuscript to be considered. I submitted a different manuscript and was notified I'd been accepted. But when it came time to decide what I wanted to actually work on at the conference during my roundtable session with editor Brett Duquette, for some reason, POLAR BEAR ISLAND, came back to my mind. I pulled it back out and took it to my critique group and my online critique partners to polish it up some more.

During my session with Brett, he gave me some amazing feedback that really seemed to unlock parts of the story. After the conference, I made another round of edits and sent it off to Brett a few weeks later. Brett called soon after to say he was taking it to his editorial team at Sterling. By Christmas it had passed both acquisitions and sales, and I had an offer.

To this day, I am beyond grateful for the SCBWI Michigan Roundtable Retreat. The funny thing is I initially debated whether or not I should go as it was an 8 hour drive, I was 4 months pregnant and had a toddler at home! But it turns out it was one of the best decisions I ever made!

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR ASPIRING PICTURE BOOK AUTHORS?

Write because you love it, not just because you want to get published. During my first week as a theatre major at Northwestern University, the theatre faculty called all of us bright-eyed creative artists into a room and said, “If you can see yourself doing anything else, don't do this. Walk out this door right now.”

Certainly that was the last thing any of us were expecting to hear, and it was shocking and maybe even a bit disheartening. But as I've forged a career in the creative arts over the last 16 years or so, I've realized it was actually great advice that applies to writing too. Neither acting nor writing are easy paths -- so if you're not doing it because you LOVE it, because you can't imagine NOT doing it, you might not fair well with all of the ups and downs that are part of process.

If you LOVE it, you will want to stick with it. You will enjoy the growth, both personal and professional, that comes along with each draft you write – even if that manuscript never gets published.

If you have ever thought of writing a picture book series,
here are some thoughts on building one.

1.Have a theme that will tie them all together.

2.Have a purpose. If teaching something through non-fiction,
is there enough material for multiple books? Do you offer kid-friendly
activities in the back matter? If it’s fiction, what is the reason you think
kids will benefit from getting to know your characters?

3.Setting: Is this a place to which kids will want
to return in every book?

4.If it’s fiction, is your character the right age
for your story and target audience? Do you have enough (very short) stories to
make a whole series? Does your character learn things over the course of each
book to which your readers can relate?

5.Will you self-publish or pitch to traditional
publishers? There are pros and cons to both. Learn all you can about them
before you decide.

6.Research the market; is there a similar series
out there that’s been recently-published?*

7.Whatever you decide, make sure you read as much
as you can so that you know your market and your competition.

The two picture book series I wrote this year are Boost My
Reading Skills and Backyard Biomes.

Boost My Reading Skills is a color concept series with back
matter that teaches how to use these books to help kids boost their pre-reading
skills. It also includes a page of resources for parents about reading.

Backyard Biomes is about…biomes! It includes colorful
pictures of plants, animals and geology for Forests, Oceans, and Deserts. Back
matter includes information on the specific biome and a page with directions
for children on how they can make a book about their own backyard ecology.

Both series are in rhyme and were vetted by a reading
teacher. They are targeted at grades K and 1 but will also work well as library
story hour books for 3 and 4-year-olds. They are published through Slanted Ink,
www.slantedink.com, and are for sale on
Amazon.

*I researched Backyard Biomes two years ago but failed to
double check again; after my books were published, I discovered that a series
with the same title had been published in 2017. Make sure to keep checking the
market, especially if you are not publishing traditionally.